Floor-arch



(No Model.) R. L. STONE.

FLOOR ARCH.

Patented May 24, 1892.

minessesz wwwrw U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD L. STONE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLOOR-ARCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,354, dated May 24,1892.

Application filed February 8, 1892. Serial No. {$20,727. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RICHARD L. STONE, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Fire-Proof Floor-Arches, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, in which Figure 1 isa perspective representation of a portion of my improved ceiling-archabutting an I-beam. Fig. 2 is an elevation of the key-block removed fromthe arch and an edge view of the filling-tile employed to complete thearch between I-beams which are irregularly spaced. Fig. 3 is a face viewof the filling-tile.

This invention relates to a fire-proof ceiling, which is placed betweenmetal I-beams and serves to support the plaster underneath and the floorabove; and the novelty of the ceiling consists in the certain means bywhich the several sections of the tile arches are braced to sustain arequired pressure imposed thereon. It is desirable that a ceiling ofthis kind be made as light as possible, so that its own weight will notmaterially detract from its, supporting capacity. To attain the greatestsupporting-power, I construct each section of the arch, except thekey-section and skewback sections, with an upper and lower diagonalbrace, so that the lower brace of one section lies in line with theupper brace of the inner adjoining section, whereby each main section isprovided with two braces, and the lower brace of one section and theupper of the inner adjoining section in practice serves the purpose of acontinuous diagonal brace through two main sections and the key-section.The skewbaek sections have each but one brace, and that a lower one, andthe key-section has two upper diagonal braces crossing each other. Theadjoining sections between said upper and lower braces are shoulderedonto each other by oifsets reverse in contour, whereby the floor-archcan be laid level and not crowned, as is now generally the custom withother forms of arches, and maintain its position, while the I-b-eams donot spread from each other. Where a given number of sections do not fillthe space between two I-beams G, I employ one or more fillingtiles E F,termed slims, which are formed with offsets V S, similar to theshoulders on the other sections, so that said spaces may be filled withshouldered tile instead of mortar. The form of these slims is shown atFigs. 2 and 3.

A represents the key-section. H is its top wall, P X its side walls, andW its bottom wall.

I I, &c., represent all the other tiles, and B B B C the top walls ofthose sections at the right of the key-section, and D represents abroken portion of one section at the left of said key-section.

U U, &c., represent the top joints.

J J, &c., represent the bottom walls of all the sections except thekey-section.

The adjoining walls of the sections B I, C I, and D I are shown at P P,&c., and the offsets, by means of which one section has a seat upon theother section, is shown at V S.

At the right hand of the key-section H A L L, &c., represent the lowerbraces, which extend, respectively, from the lower right-hand corners ofthe sections diagonally to the middle of the sections they are locatedin and stop opposite the offsets V S, and the upper braces N run fromthe offset portions to the upper left-hand corners of the sections, thebraces in the key-section being in the form of an X, as clearly shown inFigs. 1 and 2. Struts M in Fig. 1 connect with the sides and braces ofall the sections except the key-section; but these are only employedwhere the arch is ten inches or more high. For arches eight inches highthe walls and braces will be sufficiently strong if made three-fourthsof an inch in thickness each.

The skewback-section C I J is provided at its corner adjoining the lowerportion of the I-beam with the ordinary notch K to pass onto the flangeas a support, as the art of construction was before my invention.

It will be understood that the sections at the left of the key-sectionare the reverse counterpart of the sections at the right hand of thesaid key-section.

The method of setting the sections does not differ, essentially, fromthat in setting other tile-arches, except that the top of the arch isnot crowned or set convex.

I do not claim to be the first to brace the sections of a floorarch madeof tile or burned clay; and therefore confine my invention to thefollowing specific claim.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates- An improvement in floor-arches, consisting of the main sectionsB I J, formed on their inclined uniting sides with seats V S, and theskewback C I J, formed with one seat S, the key-section formed on eachside with one seat V, the sections B I J and the sections 0 I J beingprovided with lower diagonal braces extending from their outer lowercorners inwardly to the middle portions of the opposite sides, and thesections B I J and A H W pro- RICHARD L. STONE. Witnesses:

G. L. CHAPIN, E. R. KIRKWOOD.

